Salonnières is a consuming new album from Elizabeth Naccarato, a classically trained pianist and composer based in Southern Colorado. Showcasing both talent for original composition and deep reverence for the classical canon, the album is inspired by the Enlightenment-era Salonnières, who hosted intimate gatherings of musicians, writers, and thinkers.
Naccarato explains: “My piano composing has always been inspired by The Repertoire and the great composers. This collection contains some of those works, as well as my compositions that were inspired by them.” She continues: “The alberti bass of Mozart, the appoggiaturas and suspensions of Brahms, variations of Mozart and Chopin, improvisational runs, recitatives, and meters are some of the compositional devices that are indelibly imprinted in my mind and work.”
Opening with its elegant, frolicking intrigue, Chopin’s “Nocturne No. 1 in b-flat minor, Op.9/1” is wholly exemplary of Naccarato’s beautiful piano playing — delighting across both expressive multi-layered ranges of pitch, like just after the one-minute turn, to the more romantic breeziness thereafter. Then arrives Naccarato’s own composition in “The Kiss,” which exudes a similarly compelling mixture of ethereality and twinkling ardor. Movements of both trickling, colorful serenity and more subdued charm, like the wintry progression past the two-minute turn, enamor throughout this gorgeous composition.
Another exceptional original composition from Naccarato arrives a couple songs later in “Friends & Lovers,” layering a subdued, underlying piano flourishing that perfectly melds with a radiant, vibrant piano lead, creating a dynamic and engaging sonic experience. The preceding track — Mozart’s “Piano Sonata No.14 in c minor, Op.457:II Adagio” — establishes the disposition well, in its introspective and serene appeal. The highlights continue throughout, spanning “And of the Affections” and its snowfall-like piano glistening and dreamy closer “The Poet Speaks.” From immersive renditions of classical masterpieces to her own standout works, Salonnières is a standout success from Elizabeth Naccarato.
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“The Kiss” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
